Jan. 30, 2010
Final Stats 
DEKALB - Junior guard Xavier Silas scored a game-high 27 points, his eighth output with 20 or more points this season, but visiting Buffalo (11-7, 4-3 MAC) shot 55.7 percent from the field, and cruised to a 95-83 win over the Northern Illinois men's basketball team (8-11, 4-3 MAC) in a Mid-American Conference divisional crossover game at the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon.
Silas' 27 points led a threesome of Huskies in double figures - he was joined by sophomore guard Mike DiNunno (15) and junior center Sean Kowal (12). Silas also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Preseason First-Team All-MAC selection Rodney Pierce scored a team-high 17 points, leading a balanced scoring attack that saw five Bulls score in double figures.
Buffalo shot 60.6 percent in the second half, and held a 38-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulls also had 21 assists on their 34 field goals, and committed just eight turnovers.
"I thought our guys played extremely hard. I was proud of the way we came out," said NIU head coach Ricardo Patton. "I thought we did some good things out there. We played a seasoned, veteran team, and I think the better team won today."
"We were right there at times. When we went to the bench, we didn't get the production we have seen in the past. We've got to get more point production out of the bench. We'll take a look at the film, and get ready for a tough road stretch this week."
NIU jumped out to the early 7-4 lead with Lee Fisher scoring four quick points, but Buffalo answered with an 11-4 run, and took a 15-11 lead with 13:38 remaining in the first half. The Huskies tied the game at 19-19 after Fisher's second field goal, and then went on a convincing 7-0 flurry to take a 26-19 lead, and force Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon into his first timeout.
The Bulls countered with seven-straight points, tying the score at 26-26, and re-claimed the lead at 36-35 with 3:52 remaining in the opening stanza. After the Huskies pulled within 41-39 with just over two minutes to play, the Bulls ended the frame on a 6-3 spurt, taking a 47-42 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Buffalo scored four points before Northern Illinois had its first possession of the second half, and raced out to a 51-42 lead. NIU pulled within 54-48 with 18:04 remaining, but would draw no closer. The Bulls recorded their first double-digit advantage (61-50) with 15:15 left, after a transition layup by Calvin Betts.
Kowal dunked on a baseline drive to pull the Huskies within nine, 67-58, but Jawaan Alston scored on a backdoor cut on the other end, stretching Buffalo's lead to a comfortable 13 points (71-58) at the 11:50 mark.
After falling behind by as many as 17 points, the Huskies mounted a late rally, pulling within ten (89-79) with 4:31 remaining. But NIU could not further cut into Buffalo's lead. Twenty-eight of the Bulls' 48 second-half points were scored in the paint.
Northern Illinois will travel to northeast Ohio for a two-game road swing at Kent State and Akron next Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Tip-off against the Golden Flashes at the Memorial Athletic Center is set for 6 p.m. Monday evening. Kent State edged visiting Western Michigan, 74-73, Saturday afternoon. MAC-East teams have now posted an 8-2 record versus the West Division in divisional crossover play.
